There’s something magical about the arrival of our elves. Alright, it’s a bit messy. A path of destruction tends to lead our family’s way to their departure on Christmas morning from snow angels left on the kitchen counter to the scaling of our Christmas tree. You never know where you’ll find them or what they’ll be doing. Why not use the elves’ mischievous antics to teach our children a lesson about responsibility?
A Mess
A few days ago, I was carefully making my way across my daughters’ room trying not to step on an assortment of discarded books, overturned storage bins, piles of clothing and an array of toys littering the floor. Less than 24 hours earlier, all those books were nestled in their book shelf. Their clean clothing was neatly folded in drawers. The dirty laundry sat in their basket. All of the toys were stowed away thanks to their father. This mess was unacceptable. Suddenly, a little Christmas light turned on in my head.
Two elves were quite naughty that day, and two little girls came home to an even bigger mess. Foam soap was smeared all over their bathroom mirror. The pink substance snaked its way from the sink to the toilet, which resembled a pink cupcake. Toilet paper also covered nearly every surface in their room. At the center of the mess, one elf was caught clutching the soap. The other was seated on top of a teddy bear bound in toilet paper holding an empty roll.
An “Emergency”
“It’s an emergency,” screamed one child surveying the room. “The bear is arrested.”
The other took a deep breath and looked up with big eyes that clearly implored me to clean up the mess.
“They are your elves. You are responsible for their actions and their mess. Do you know what you have to do, girls?” I asked.
“We need to clean up and take responsibility for Pixie and Trixie,” replied the oldest.
“We need to show Pixie and Trixie what your room should look like,” instructed their father.
Immediately, they got to work alone. To my surprise, they wiped the soap from every surface 
and placed all the toilet paper in the garbage can. The night ended with two tired little girls scolding two elves for not cleaning up after themselves.
A Little Christmas Miracle
